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Compassion
This word has been on my mind lately. Mostly because the world needs more of it. The people need more of it. The animals need more of it. The planet needs more of it. As a part of my spiritual practice, I recite five principles every day. The one I end with is “Today, I […]
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Sacred Sundays
No doubt due to my Catholic upbringing, I hold Sundays as sacred even though I no longer subscribe to an organized religious dogma. In my youth, Sundays meant attending Sunday mass and getting Dunkin’ Donuts afterwards. As a young wife and mother we made it family day and either went out for crepes or we […]
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Why Throw A Living Memorial?
My husband turned 70 this week and the pre-Corona plan was to throw him an Honor Dinner (or Living Memorial) to celebrate his life. Now you might be asking what is the difference between an Honor Dinner and a birthday party. Quite simply it is the sentiment expressed. Let’s think about a regular memorial for […]
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Best Death Possible (part two) – A Daughter’s Mission
The Difference A Doula Makes An experienced Death Doula is someone familiar with many faces of death. While death is universal in its presence, it is individual in its experience. In my situation, a Doula would’ve been outside the grief circle, someone who could hold space for me as I expended my energy fighting for […]
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Best Death Possible – Part One -A Mother’s Death
Today, December 13, 2020 is the fifteenth anniversary of my mother’s transition. Until this time I haven’t shared the details of my experience of her death. There are so many things I would do differently, most are details that would matter only to me, however one thing I believe could’ve changed the outcome. I want […]
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Attachment To Things Has Gotten A Bad Rap
In a country where hoarding is an epidemic, while simultaneously Marie Kondo has become a celebrity for downsizing, it’s important to understand the reason behind our attachment to possessions and the therapeutic value ‘things’ have in grieving. “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot,” 🎶 a popular lyric and a popular trend when […]
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When People Show You Who They Are, Believe Them
When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. People know themselves much better than you do. That’s why it’s important to stop expecting them to be something other than who they are. – Maya Angelou. This short little quote helped me understand the ‘how’ of relationships. I kept expecting people to be true to their words, because I […]
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Ask The Death Witch – Seeing Dead People
A worried daughter asks, “What do we do when my mom hallucinates? She keeps seeing her dead father.” These are not hallucinations. There is a reason it is called ‘crossing over’ when people die. In every way it is a crossing over to ‘the other side’. In the process of crossing over they have one […]
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Interfaith Ministry
“I’m not religious. I’m spiritual.” I have heard this more often than not in the past 15 years. It is how I’ve described my own Faith system for more than 30 years now. And it is exactly why my compulsion to serve in a spiritual role led me to my recent induction as a First […]
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What The Lack Of End Of Life Planning Really Costs
I want to share a deeply personal story. At the time of his death my daughter’s father and I had been divorced for four years. During our 23 year marriage, because of my career, we always had open discussions about dying and death. We were open with our daughter about death, never shielding or protecting […]
Healing Rites of Passage
Spiritual Medicine
Healing Rites of Passage 